San Bernardino Police investigate the scene of a shootout at a San Bernardino pawn shop between apparent robbers and employees that left three people hurt on Wed. , Jan. 10, 2018 in San Bernardino. The robbers fled the scene and crashed a short distance later and were still being sought Wednesday afternoon, police say. (Stan Lim, San Bernardino Sun /SCNG)

A San Bernardino pawn shop employee wounded in a shootout with two armed robbers Wednesday afternoon has died, San Bernardino police officials said Thursday, and police are looking for witnesses to help find the shooters.

Jason Cullen, 32, of Highland was shot and fatally wounded in the robbery attempt just before 1 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 10, at the pawn shop at 2601 Highland Ave. in San Bernardino. Police had previously identified Cullen as a pawn shop employee.

Police said that two suspects wearing surgical masks threw an incendiary device that resembled a Molotov cocktail into the shop, prompting a display case to catch fire. Two people suffered burn wounds; they are expected to recover.

The suspects then opened fire, police said, and employees at the store fired back.

It wasn’t clear whether the robbers were wounded during the shooting, which some witnesses said unleashed between six and 10 bullets.

The armed men fled, driving south on Valaria Drive, but crashed their car at a fence at the 210 Freeway, officials said. Authorities briefly closed the freeway during the search for the suspects.

Police said the suspects then fled on foot into a nearby apartment complex, but were not found.

They are described as black, in their mid-20s with medium builds last seen wearing black hoodies, black pants and wearing surgical masks. They are believed to be armed. Police ask anyone who sees them to call 911.

Beatriz E. Valenzuela is an award-winning journalist who’s covered breaking news in Southern California since 2006 and has been on the front lines of several national and international news events. She’s worked for media outlets serving Southern California readers covering education, local government, entertainment and all things nerd including comic book culture and video games. She’s an amateur obstacle course racer, constant fact-checker, mother of three and lover of all things adorable.

Join the Conversation

We invite you to use our commenting platform to engage in insightful conversations about issues in our community. Although we do not pre-screen comments, we reserve the right at all times to remove any information or materials that are unlawful, threatening, abusive, libelous, defamatory, obscene, vulgar, pornographic, profane, indecent or otherwise objectionable to us, and to disclose any information necessary to satisfy the law, regulation, or government request. We might permanently block any user who abuses these conditions.

If you see comments that you find offensive, please use the “Flag as Inappropriate” feature by hovering over the right side of the post, and pulling down on the arrow that appears. Or, contact our editors by emailing moderator@scng.com.